BEWARE OF THOSE YOU RECEIVE COUNSEL FROM
BEWARE OF THOSE YOU RECEIVE COUNSEL FROM
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ ” —I Kings 12:6-11
And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” —I Kings 12:13-14
Who do we listen and take counsel from? Is it from our peers or do we seek the wisdom of the generation before us— those who have more life-experience and have lived for the Lord for many years?
Well in the case above Rehoboam did listen to the counsel of both the old men and then of the young men. He chose to go with the counsel of the young men, the ones he grew up with, his peers. That counsel would end up to be destructive and split the nation (I Kings 12:16-19). It was now a divided nation. What is the motivation of those we receive counsel from? Beware of this.
We need to be wise in who we seek counsel from and make sure it is counsel from our Lord. Are the people wise we are seeking counsel from? Have they sought to apply God’s Word faithfully to their life? We need godly people to give us counsel. Beware of receiving counsel from younger people without life experience and application of God’s Word to life. They make think themselves wise, but if they are not seeking their counsel from the Lord themselves for their own lives, then why receive counsel from them for your own life?
Just be aware and know those who are seeking to give you counsel. If their own lives do not bear the fruit godly wisdom, then seek not the wisdom they offer. They will have a track record. Who are their peers? Who are they seeking their advice from? See what that is before seeking counsel form anyone. The track record would be the fruit of their life— not just their words, but their actions and the affect of those actions. This will prove whether they live according to the counsel of God’s Word or not.
Dear Father please help me to listen to the counsel of the wise. May this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus, Your Son. So be it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkHqaBxPoAM